Wednesday, February 4, 2015

I hope this past weekend saw you sandwiching well during the Super Bowl and its horrific and exciting end. Maybe you created your favorite sporting sandwich, or tried a new one, like I did.

Mendocino Farms. Oh, you crafter of creative sandwiches. I've been past both Hollywood locations numerous times, as well as the Sherman Oaks one but had yet to stop in until we happened to be passing by this weekend, returning from a trip to the homebrew store.

Standing out amidst a massive condominium complex in Sherman Oaks, Mendocino Farms is a welcoming eatery space in which the lines fill up quickly but move just as fast. If nothing else, the short wait will give you enough time to peruse the menu. Seriously, I went back and forth about ten times before deciding on my sandwich for the afternoon.

The chicken is a nice cut, juicy and a great base flavor for the sandwich. Each bite does give you a bit of that spicy buffalo sauce flavor, but I actually wish there was a bit more. The blue cheese slaw brings a bit of the funk to the sandwich but does cover up some of that vinegar-y flavor of the sauce. I wished there had been a bit more of each with a better balance overall to make this a big hit.

The slaw and krispies added a bit of crunch, and the roll was delicious and held together until the end. Overall it was an enjoyable sandwich, just wish it had been kicked up a notch.

The rest of the menu looks pretty delicious as I mentioned before, and I'm looking forward to trying their Banh Mi next time as it has become one of my favorite types of sandwiches. If you're up for something well crafted and delicious, definitely give Mendocino Farms a shot. You may even love this sandwich with its more muted flavors than I had expected, especially if you're not into potentially over-intense flavors as I am.

Monday, February 2, 2015

Look, I know it's a bit early for this week's sandwich blog, but that's because this isn't a post about sandwiches.

This is a post about beer.

Now, I'm a craft-beer-drinking, homebrew-loving, beer fanatic, but if you're the type of person who enjoys Budweiser, or Coors, more power to you. If that's your jam, and you enjoy the flavor, fantastic. Drink on, Friend.

I will try to tell you that there are better tasting, more fulfilling beers than the Big 3, but I won't tell you top stop drinking what you like. Macro-Brewing should not be a term with revile, but in some cases embrace. If suddenly your local brewery was produced so that the entire country could enjoy it, but the flavor didn't change, would you suddenly hate it since it was suddenly "Macro"?

Enter, Budweiser's Super Bowl Commercial.

No, the other one. Not the one with the cute puppy, and the crying during such a manly sport like football where dudes in spandex tackle each other in an arena.

At first, I laughed at this spot. It's ballsy. It's very much a "If you don't like, us, well piss off because we've got plenty of people who drink it, and we're happy with who we are" attitude.

Fantastic, Budweiser. Bravo. Own what you are.

But then the commercial degrades into a lot of name-calling and knocking the idea of beer as a craft. One of my favorite parts of this new salvo in beer on beer warring is the fact that Budweiser originally starts off by saying it's not to be dissected, but follows up by telling you about its beechwood aging process.

Wood aging is a pretty craft-brewing thing to do. Something that adds aroma and flavor.

Secondly, for a company that is knocking craft brewing, Budweiser sure doesn't have a problem purchasing stakes in craft brewing companies. Anheuser-Busch InBev currently owns 32% of Red Hook Brewing and Widmer Brewing, and owns majority stakes in breweries such as Redbridge, Goose Island, Kona Brewing, Fordham Brewing, and Old Dominion Brewing either through direct ownership or through the Craft Beer Alliance.

They also just recently purchased a 47.2% stake in Elysian Brewing just over a week ago. Now why would I mention this one separate of the others? at 0:42 into the commercial Budweiser cracks a joke about craft beer drinkers enjoying their Peach Pumpkin Ale.

It just so happens that Elysian Brewing has a beer called Gourdia On My Mind: a peach pumpkin ale. They also have at least three other seasonal pumpkin ales containing other ingredients like Stumptown Coffee.

The short of it though is that, while I had originally applauded Budwesier in the first ten seconds for owning who they are, the fact is that the company has become scared of the competition. Beer drinkers are becoming more educated, knowing that drinking your beer just above freezing temps only serves to block out the poor flavor and aroma.

If Budweiser were truly not afraid of being Macro, they wouldn't find a need to buy up smaller craft brands in order to solidify their position. The fact that they also mock those purchased brands in their commercial shows they know that their position in the market is truly fading.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

It's amazing to think that January is almost over, and before we'll notice it, it'll be time for summer sandwiches.

But while it's still cold outside, why don't we take a look at a fresh sandwich to warm your insides during the cold months to come?

In the LA area, there is a fantastic chain of cafeteria-style eateries called Lemonade. I've been to the one in Beverly Hills a long time ago, but even then I hadn't tried one of their sandwiches. Recently though, a location opened up close to where I live in Toluca Lake, making it all the easier to stop on by for a quick lunch to try some of their amazing offerings.

Your first time inside of Lemonade may be a bit overwhelming. Sure the decor is simple, stylized and welcoming with its bright colors, what's going to throw you for a loop is the number of amazing selections waiting for you when you jump into the lunch line.

At the start of the line you will see a long line of various salads to add to your lunch. I picked the Thai quinoa salad one that is combined with cucumbers, red pepper, mango, peanuts and carrots. There's a bit of bite to this and a mild bright flavor that would make this a great combination with a number of offerings at Lemonade.

After the burden of deciding on which delicious side salad to have, the real challenge of the afternoon began: which of the numerous sandwiches should I choose.

All look delicious, and all are on display along the lunch line. If the words weren't enough to help you pick one from many, then looking at all of them won't make your decision any easier. After much debate, I settled on the El Tijuana: turkey, jalapeno aioli, jicama slaw, and queso fresco.

While the sandwich could be toasted to order, I left that part alone and the bread stayed with me until the end. A little bit of cheese crusted onto the side with a whole-grain flavor made this an excellent bookend to the delight inside.

The turkey was fresh, with a mild flavor and thinly sliced. The jicama slaw added some bite and fresh flavor while the jalapeno aioli brought the spice kick this sandwich needed to propel it further. The queso fresco, for those who have not heard of it before, is a mild white cheese and in this case it's shredded and put on top of the turkey. It's a nice, mild addition to the flavor that brings the fresh and spicy flavors of the slaw and aioli more into line with the turkey.

A delicious lunch, and that doesn't even count the amazing lemonade options (all sound fantastic though I went with Blood Orange) and the desserts. Frankly, you may lose half of a paycheck here in an afternoon.

Whether sitting outside on the gorgeous patio overlooking Toluca Lake, or the inside with its modernized cafeteria look, you really can't go wrong stopping in at Lemonade. It's a place where the delicious options will have you coming back for more in the future until you try nearly every of the innumerable options in front of you.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

I hope the past week has brought you many delicious sandwiches at new places for you.

Speaking of new places, every time I visit Philadelphia, I am amazed at the amount of sandwich shops that have sprung up in my absence. It seems that the City of Brotherly Love is embracing the art of sandwiching past just their fantastic cheesesteaks and roast pork sandwiches.

Case in point: going on a suggestion from Visit Philly (thanks btw!) I stopped at a restaurant I had heard about in whispers for awhile: Jake's Sandwich Board. A few years ago, they had a Ghost Pepper Cheesesteak on the menu which I had wanted to try, but I also did not want my stomach destroyed for a few days on vacation and so passed on it.

This time though, I wasn't going to be swayed. While I didn't see the Ghost Pepper sandwich, there were a number of options that seemed incredible, creative, and daring.

Heading there on a frigid night in late December, Jake's Sandwich Board is a small shop in downtown Philadelphia, a great place to settle in at a table, eat great food, and catch up with friends before heading out to some great bars in that part of town. We headed there one night to catch up with a friend we hadn't seen in awhile, but during dinner we weren't able to do a lot of talking because of the food itself.

The pork was plentiful, juicy and flavorful. The sriracha spread definitely gave an incredible spice kick, and the provolone was heavily present. Almost so much that it overpowered the sandwich in some areas. I really love provolone, but maybe a little bit less would help accentuate the delicious pork rather than overpower.

The roll held together until the end and was well made. A definite killer sandwich that I would absolutely have again my next time in Philadelphia.

If you're downtown and looking for a great sandwich stop, I highly suggest you check out Jake's Sandwich Board. While I had a pork sandwich (and there are others), they also offer options with brisket, turkey and veggies. You will have an excellent selection of options before you there.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

While my first day or two back in Pennsylvania wasn't exactly chilly, considering the fact it was December, by the time of my second sandwich stop, it was downright frigid.

Heading into Croydon on a cold Monday evening, we stopped by a small pub called the Dog and Bull House.

Standing right next to the local train stop, The Dog and Bull just oozes atmosphere. The restaurant is small and cramped, a little dim with low ceilings, but really on a cold night when you want good food and a high ABV beer, you couldn't ask for a better place.

After settling in with some fantastic beer from The Bruery, I ordered the Black and Blue Burger. Granted the suggestion is to drink a nice IPA with this sandwich, but on this cold night, nothing but a 9% or higher beer will do.

The burger, a thick beef patty, comes topped with blackened seasoning, blue cheese crumbles, all topped with sauteed mushrooms and onions between two sides of a toasted bun.

The sandwich was flavorful, the beef patty incredibly juicy and savory. The blue cheese brought a little funk, smoke and contrast to the overall savory flavor of the burger. The mushrooms and onions were cooked to perfection providing mild flavors of their own while also bringing a textural pop and bite to the sandwich.

Overall, The Dog and Bull provides excellent food complemented with fantastic beers. If you're in the Croydon area, you should definitely stop by. It might be an even better visit for you if one of their musical acts is playing that night too.

That's all for this week's review. Next week I have a really dangerous sandwich to write about, so I hope you'll join me back here next Wednesday for that.